Sleeping car



P 1952 w; E. BURNETT 2,609,760

SLEEPING CAR Filed 19 8 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR TORNEY P 1952 w. E.BURNETT 2,609,760

SLEEPING CAR Filed Dec. 14, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 -11? I E Z INVENTORMylar E. 50 rneh Patented Sept. 9, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICESLEEPING can: William E. Burnett, Arlington, Val, assignor to AmericanCan and Foundry Company, New York, .,N. Yr, a corporation of New JerseyApplication December 14, 1948,.SerialNo-.I.65,171

This inventionrelates to railroad carsrand more particularly tofurniture and its arrangement insleepingcar bedrooms. V

In sleeping car bedrooms having upper-berths it is customary to providea. ladder for the upper berth and anight: table adiaicentthe lower;berth arrangement. The night table: is usually fixed: in the. roomwhile. the; ladder usually detachable and stored in any convenientspace.

AILObJlEClTOf the invention is. to provide a furniture: arrangement forsleeping: car bedrooms whereby maximum: space: will be available for;passengers: when the bed structures are in stored position.

Another object of. the. invention to: provide a night table in asleeping car bedroom that is shiitable into the-passenger room spacewhen the bed structures are. in: prone position and out of, thepassenger roomspace-when the: bed structures areinstored position. I l iAnother object of the invention is to providea sleeping can bedroomhaving a seat structure withspaced back sections carried by hinged berthpans/and a hinged upper berth above the seat, with aladder thatcan beplaced; between-the berth pans when; in stored position and which: withthe bottoms of the berthpans will form; a cover wall in front of.theupper' berth. Another object of the invention is to providea sleepingcar-bedroom witha ladder that. can be: detachably stored in. position:to form part of an alcove wallconcealing anv upper berth.

These and otherobjectse of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled: in the art from a study of the following description andaccompanying, drawings, in which? 7 Figure: 1 is a transverse sectionalviewof a sleeping car bedroom taken on line l t of Figure 3.

Figure Z -is a longitudinal sectional view in the: bedroom taken on line2-4 of Figure 3'.

Figure B is a horizontal sectional. view of the bedroom takenon line3-v-3: of Figure: 1.

Figure 4; is a sectional view of thebedroom similar toElgure 2- showingthe berths in prone position and the ladder imposition for use with theupper berth; l r l t Fi ure 5 is a sectional view in the bedroom takenon line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 i'sasectional view or the ladder taken approximately on line-6-4 of Figure 3.

figure- 7' isa fragmentary plan view in the bedroonr showing the tablecarrying seat cushion section in its down position and one of the lowerbeds in prone position.

8 Claims. (01. 105--316)' Referring now to the drawings by-charactersofreference, numeral Ht represents generally a railroad sleeping carhaving bedrooms therein as indicated by numerals H. The car has theusual roof [2, outsidewallslaand floor M. Partition l5 extendslongitudinally of the car adjacent one. of the. outer walls It and formstherewith an aisle l6. Partitions ll extend between: the aislepartiti'on l5: and an outer wall l3: to divide the. car into bedrooms llanda ceiling [8 having a depressed portion i=9 extends beneath the roof:1-2 in each room and issuitably'securecl therein. Beelow this depressedportion of the ceiling is an. alcove wand at'theother end oi the room,adjacent the outside wall remote; from they aisle. partition is arrangedan. annex: H in which is hopper Z2, folding washbasin 23 and cabinet 24.Such. annex has a transversely extending; wall 25 and. a longitudinally"extending wall 26; and. between these two'wallsisanentrancehavmg adoor21 associated' therewith. At the same. end of the room with the annex.and between the annexand the aisle partition is a. shallow clothescloset 238' formed by the adjacent partition H, the aisle partition l5and a transverse partition 2% having an opening therein with which doors30 are associated. At the end: of the room adlacent the; clothes closet,the aisle, partition is formed with" a bedroom entrance with which adoor 31 isassociated. The space beside the annex outside of the clothescloset: provides a foyer for the bedroom.

A. couch is arranged in the endot the bedroom opposite that occupied, bythe. annex and, clothes closet and consists, of a seat structure 3:21:suitably fixed, to the floor and a back structure 33. couch preferablyextends substantially the fullwidth of the room with the rear of theback structure. substantially in vertical. alignment with the forwardend of the alcove 20". The back structure. is formedby three.side-by-side sections; 34, 35 and 36. All 0! the sections are preferablymounted to be swung downwardly to partly overlie the seat structure.ward'ly in the alcove from the transverse wall I l adjacent the couchandpivot pins 38 extend through thebraekets-and are engaged by supportingbrackets 39 projecting from the middle seat back section 35 Table top lui's fixed on therear of back section 35 to serve as a night table topwhen the back section 35 is swung downwardly to overlie theseatstructure 32" as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2. This backsection35 can be swung into: alignment or' out of alignment with the other backsections at will to provide a table structure its lower position or toprovidea POE-r Brackets. 3T extend for- V 34 and 35.

.means.

the adjacent outer wall and aisle partition in line 7 with pivot pins38. The berth pans are pivotally mounted behind the seat structure andprovide. the supports for the seat back structure sections As the berthpans ti and 42 are pivotally mounted, they can be swung down over theseat structure into prone position for use as spaced beds. When in pronepositio n,,the for,- ward end of pan ll is supported on brackets 44fixed on annex wall while the forward end of berth pan 52 is supportedon bracket 45 fixed to the aisle partition and a suitable leg 46 carriedby the berth pan at. As previously stated, the central ba'ck'section canbe swung up or down at will to serve as a table between the berth panswhen in prone positions or as a back rest for passengers reclining onthe ends of the seat structure when theberth pans are in storedposition.

The pans 4i and 42 project well above the top of the seat structuresections and preferably substantially to the ceiling at the forward endof the alcove 25 to form a front closure wall for the alcove when instored position. As the bottom surfaces of the berth pans are exposed toview when in stored position, they can be suitably finished to matchwith the other type of finish utilized in the bedroom. The berth panshave spring controlled telescoping links i! connected with and attachedat their lower ends to brackets 48 projecting from the open sideof thepans and mounted at their other ends on brackets 59 on transverse wall Hat the rear of the alcove. These spring links may be of a conventionaltype. 'An upper berth pan 50 is suspended by links 51 mounted at theirupper ends to brackets 52 on the alcove wall I! and connected at theirlower ends'with the brackets ll on'the'pan, the pan being carried bypivot means 53 suitably secured to the side walls of the room. Thissuspension means-is associated with the rear side of the up per berthpan so'that the pan can be swung upwardly into the alcove behind theberth pans H and 42 for stored position. After the lower berths havebeen moved downwardly, the upper berth pan canbe swung down and issupported at its forward end by arms'fi l pivoted at one end thereof andbracket Iii on the aisle partition. Arm 54 is movable into a slot inbracket 55 on the outer wall. Such'supporting means for the upper berthmay. be of conventional form.

Ladder L is provided in'th'e bedroom by means of which a passenger canclimb to and descend from the upper berth structure 59. The ladder isconstructed so that .it may be stored in the space between the lowerberths when stored and to provide with the bottom walls of the lowerberths a continuous wall at the front of the alcove.v The ladder iscomposed of side uprights BiLpreferably formed as angle irons, to whichbrackets 65 are attached for the mounting of steps 52. One face of theladder hasa cover plate 63 extending thereacross andsecured to theuprights andsteps by welding or other suitable have U-shaped hand gripsEd suitably fixed thereto and the bottom end of the uprights are formedwith a notch EEjengageable with a flange of retainer brackett iifixedbeneath the forward e is adapted to be swung over the front edge portionof the upper berth pan when it is in prone msition. 15'

The upper end of the ladder uprights 4 end of the depressed portion [9otthe ceiling. It will be noted that the U-shaped hand grips extendbeyond the angle iron uprights of the ladder and when the ladder isstored, these hand grips extend below the top of the back section 35.The ladder is further retained in parked position by a spring latch Blfixed there to engag ing in'notched arm 68 fixed on oneside of upperberth pan 50. Hook IE8 is pivotally mounted on rod 69 fixed to the upperend of the ladder and position for retaining the ladder in operative po-This arrangement of the three berths at one end of the room reduces thespace normally required for the present bed arrangements in drawingrooms of sleeping cars and without restricting passenger comfort.

The invention may be modified in various respects as will occur to thoseskilled in the art and the exclusive use of all modifications'asciomewithin the scope of the appended claims'is contemplated.

What is claimed is: l 1. In a sleeping carhaving an aisle, a roomdefined by an aisle wall, an'outside car wall, a floor, a ceiling andspaced transverse walls extending between said aisle wall and outside.wall, said room being cflonger dimension longitudinally thantransversely of the car, a couch seat structure secured on the floor andextending'transversely of the room adjacent one of the transverse walls,a couch back structure comprising three side-by-side separate sectionshaving cushions on the front thereof adapted to form a continuousaligned surface, said middle back section being hingedly mounted,hingedly mounted berth pan structures having the rear of the two endback sections secured to their bottom walls and of a length to extendsubstantially to the ceiling when in stored position, a table fixed onthe rear'of the middle couch back section, a ladder structure of a widthand length to fill the space between the berths above the middle couchback section when in seat forming position, said ladder structure havingacover adapted to lie flushwith the bottom walls of the berth pans whenin stored position, and means for retaining the ladder in storedposition between the berths.

2. In a sleeping car having an aisle, a room defined by an aisle'wall,an outside car wall, a floor, a ceiling and spaced transverse wallsextending between'said aisle wall and outside Well, said room being oflonger dimension longitudinally than transversely of the car, a couchseat structure secured on the fioor and extending transversely of theroom adjacent one of the transverse walls, a couch back structurecomprising three separate side-by-side sections, the middle back sectionbeing hinged at its base and all of the sections having cushions on thefront thereof adapted to form a continuous aligned surface, pivotedberth'pan structures having their bottom walls secured with the rear ofthe two end back sections and of a length toextend substantially to theceiling when in stored position, a ladder structure of a width andlengthto fill the space between the berths above the middle couch backsection, said ladder structure having 'a cover adapted to lie flush withthe bottom walls of the berth pans when in stored position, and meansfor retaining theladder-in stored position.- between the berths. I L 7 13. In a sleeping car having an aisle, a-room defined by an aisle wall,an outside car wall, a floor, a ceiling and spaced transverse wallsextending between said aisle wall and outside wall, said room being oflonger dimension longitudinally than transversely of the car, a couchsecured on the floor and extending transversely of the room adjacent oneof the transverse walls, a couch back structure comprising threeseparate side-by-side sections having cushions on the front thereofadapted to form a continuous aligned surface, the middle back sectionbeing hingedly mounted, hinged lower berth pan structures having theirbottom walls secured with the back of the two end back sections andadapted to extend substantially to the ceiling when in stored position,an upper berth pan hinged for storage behind the other berth panstructures, an anchor member on the upper berth pan, a ladder structureof a width and length to fill the space between the lower berth panstructures and floor, a ceiling and spaced transverse walls extendingbetween said aisle wall and outside wall, said room being of longerdimension longitudinally than transversely of the car, an anchor bracketon said ceiling, a couch seat secured on the floor and extendingtransversely of the room adjacent one of the transverse walls, a couchback structure comprising three separate sideby-side sections havingcushions on the front thereof adapted to form a continuous alignedsurface, the middle back structure section being hingedly mounted, lowerberth pans having their bottom walls secured to the backs of the two endback sections and adapted to extend adjacent the ceiling when in storedposition, a ladder structure of a width and length to fill the spacebetween the berth pans above the middle couch back section when instored position, said ladder structure having a cover adapted to lieflush with the bottom walls of the berth pans and having a notch in oneend, and a ceiling anchor bracket for engaging in the ladder notch tosecure the ladder in stored position between the berth pans.

5. In a sleeping car, a bedroom formed by an outside wall, an aisle walland transverse walls, said aisle wall having an entrance openingadjacent one of the transverse walls, a toilet annex in the entrance endof the room adjacent the outside wall having an inner transverse wall, acouch extending across the full width of the room adjacent thetransverse wall remote from the annex having a seat structure and a backstructure, said back structure having transversely separated sectionsmounted to swing down over the seat structure, and hinged berth panshaving their bottom walls fixed against the rear of the two end backstructure sections, said pans extending beyond the top of the backstructure sections and being substantially the length of the spacebetween the annex inner transverse wall and the room transverse walladjacent the couch when in horizontal position.

6. In a sleeping car, a bedroom formed by an outside wall, an aislewall, transverse walls and a ceiling with a lower end forming an alcove,an upper berth hinged to room walls and adapted to be stored in thealcove adjacent the transverse Wall, a couch extending across the end ofthe room outside the alcove, said couch having a fixed seat structureand a back structure having spaced end sections mounted to swing downover the seat structure, and hinged berth pans having their bottom wallssecured to the rear of the back sections and extending beyond the topsthereof to form a cover wall when the seat back sections are in seatingaccommodation position.

7. In a sleeping car, a bedroom, a couch in the bedroom having a fixedseat structure and a back structure, said back structure being formed ofthree separate side-by-side sections adapted to be swung down over theseat structure, said middle back structure section being hingedlymounted, hinged berth pans having their bottom wall attached to the backof the outer sections of the couch back structure and a table topattached to the back of the center section of the couch back structure.

8. In a sleeping car having a bedroom, a couch extending across one endof the bedroom, said couch having a seat structure and a back structure,said back structure including at least two transversely separatedsections independently mounted to swing down over the seat structure,and berth pans hingedly mounted behind the seat structure and havingtheir bottom walls fixed to the back structure sections, said pansprojecting beyond the tops of the back structure sections a distancesuch that they approach the bedroom ceiling when in vertical storedposition.

WILLIAM E. BURNETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,896,477 Boller Feb. 7, 19332,147,011 Crawford Feb. 14, 1939 2,240,748 Bak May 6, 1941 2,299,343Patton Oct. 20, 1942 2,338,814 Jones Jan. 11, 1944 2A81,148 Patton Sept.6, 1949

